2.
It could help China get political points

Lending to Europe might be a little risky at the moment, but it could buy political dividends. China is keen for the European Union to officially grant it “market economy” status, which would ease the entry of Chinese goods. Beijing also wants the EU to drop the arms embargo that Brussels imposed after the Tiananmen Square massacre.

Quid pro quo deals could not be blatantly obvious (because that would cause political backlash), but they could be done.